Dust Swirl Union
The Dust Swirls are six tribes in one, united to survive. While small individually, together they number some 250 total tribals, with each group having their own skills. Beginning The origins of the Dust Swirls have their place in the drought of 2150, an disater that killed dozens across the city. One tribe was unaffected however, the Riverbankers. Gaining their name from the (obvious) fact that they dwelled on the banks of the Kansas River. They gained both water and fish from the river, which they willingly traded with others for things they could not make themselves. Seeing the good fortune of the Riverbankers, four other tribes began to settle near the river and the bankers camp. The Drain Dwellers were a tribe that lived in the city's degrading sewage tunnels, growing acustomed to the darkness and hunting rats of various sizes. They settled in drainage pipes that fed into the river and was the first other tribe to open up trade with the Riverbankers. The Sin Eater tribe formerly was nomadic, following the wild game around the area, but they suffered hard and decided to stay near their only sure source of water. Strong Warriors, they eat the hearts and tounges of their opponents, thus cleaning the sin's of the dead, allowing them to rest easy. The Night Fools were the next to arrive, occupying several of the still standing buildings near the river. The first week of their settlement was tense, but after seeing no hostility, they sent representitives to parley with the Riverbankers. The Night Fools are a noctural tribe that only appear in the sun to perform their ceremonies or when something dire comes up. The Whirlwinds were actually living close to the others for several weeks before being discovered in the ruins of a elementary school. The Whirlwinds get their names from the fact that they were first spotted by the other tribes during a windstorm. Treaty While peaceful, five tribes living in such close proximity was bound to cause trouble. There was several assults, roberies, and fights of honor. Tensions rose for months until it looked like war was imminent until the elder of the Whirlwinds sent messengers to the elders of the other tribes, inviting them to meet at the old market grounds. Skeptical as they were, they came to see why they were invited. It was there that the Whirlwind elder laid out his vision of a people united by peace and bonds of blood against those that would do them harms, and how these people would prosper. The other elders were convinced by his words and agreed to his proposals, the tribes would be untied, and any disagreements would be be brought before all of them. The results of the pact were felt at once, a sense of calm came over the formerly hostile tribals, marriages were aranged between tribes, children played together despite their different paints and they could now stand up the Bloodmanes, a tribe of raiders who had attacked them all at one point or another. Growth The next fourty years brought great harvests and game hunts, and saw the population swell to 200, and the expansion of the tribals into the surronding neighborhoods. Trade also picked up with settlements around the town, and caravans would even stop by occassionally. It was around this time that the tribes first recieved firearms in large enough numbers to arm a full warband with them. Another good turn for the Dust Swirls was when they defeated the Yellow Jackets, a gang that had been harassing them and other settlements along the riverfront. After slaughtering their way through the Yellow Jacket camp in a night raid, they sold the survivors to the Huns as slaves. They also walled up the block of apartments that constituted the Yellow Jacket base. Their security was further increased in 2250 when they mounted an assult on the main camp of the Bloodmane tribe. They managed to capture around a dozen women and children of the tribe, and killed their elders and warriors in the process. The remaining Bloodmane ransomed these prisoners back in exchange for moving to the other side of the city. War of Tears The peace was broken in 2265 however, when a satellite village of the Sin Eaters was found completely destroyed, and all of the people killed. The attackers were revealed to have been the Huns, leaving a body of one of their warriors. This began the war of tears, so called because of the constant rain that fell for the three months that it lasted. The first reprisal against the raiders came two days later when two warbands killed thirty Huns and captured one of their permanent camps in the city. They did this by setting up ambushes around the Hunic camp, and firing a shot to lead patrols into them, moving away whenever they saw another patrol coming. The camp held horses and pistols, clearly an raiding outpost. They took the guns, scattered the horses, and dug many shallow holes around the camp, so when more Huns came, the horses would break their legs. Two weeks after this, a horde of feral ghouls surged through the sewer tunnels of the drain dwellers, killing dozens, before finally ended by the combined strength of the tribes. It was later found that a Hun was dragging a dead mole rat around to attrach the ghouls. the following two months was nothing short of urban warfare as the tribes set up ambushes through out the city to kill any huns on sight, and the huns flooded men in to kill them. the final battle was fought three months after the war began, with an coordinated attack among all the tribes villages, the huns using almost all of their manpower in an all or nothing move. Despite the best efforts of the defenders, the huns were simply too well armed and fast to mount a proper defense. When it looked like the huns were about to break through, some began to turn back. The tribals discovered that the bloodmanes sent all their warriors to aid their fellow tribals against the raiders. The huns, caught off guard and enveloped between two forces, soon broke and retreated out of the city completely. The Dust Swirls, hesitent to trust the bloodmanes still celebrated with them. While the celebrations were going on, two things happened: the first was offerings of peace were sent to the huns, who accepted thus ending the war. The second was that the elders of all six tribes met in private, a highly unusual move. What was said is unknown, but when they emerged, they announced that the Bloodmanes where now part of the union and would move their people to the old Yellow Jacket base. Currently After the war with the Keystone, the Dust Swirls have been building their defenses up and stockpiling weapons, their previous grudge against the Bloodmanes forgotten. They have been seen assisting and hiring the Dutchmen, suggesting some sort of agreement between the two. The plan of tribals is inknown to the city at large, which is to their liking. Category:Organization